Department: Department of Chemistry            PI's Name: Chun-Cheng Lin

Journal: Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2025, 64, e202419021.

Title: Programmable Enzymatic Synthesis of Asymmetrically Branched Human Milk Oligosaccharides

Abstract: Professor Chun-Cheng Lin’s research team in the Department of Chemistry at National Tsing Hua University has developed a method for controlling enzymatic glycosylation site by modulating glycan acceptor substituent. This synthetic approach offers flexible control over regioselectivity and has been successfully applied to the synthesis of various asymmetrically branched human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). HMOs are crucial for neonatal growth and immune response, with over 250 distinct oligosaccharide structures identified to date. The method developed by Professor Lin’s team enables the preparation of diverse natural HMOs, facilitating studies on the biological activities of rare HMOs and their application as additives in infant formula. Beyond employing environmentally friendly aqueous enzymatic synthesis, the team further integrated sugar nucleotide regeneration techniques to minimize carbon source loss during synthesis, making the approach a more carbon-efficient and eco-friendly method.